Francis Sparks

Francis John Sparks (4 July 1855 – 13 February 1934) was an English amateur footballer, who played as a forward. He won the FA Cup in 1880 with Clapham Rovers and made three appearances for England, scoring three goals and being appointed captain.

Sparks was born in Billericay, Essex and played for St Albans Pilgrims in 1873. He switched to join Brondesbury later that year for the rest of the season, and was part of the team defeated 5–0 by eventual finalists Royal Engineers in the FA Cup first round in October.

Between 1876 and 1878 he played for Upton Park before joining Hertfordshire Rangers. His first England appearance came against Scotland on 5 April 1879. The match was played at the Kennington Oval and had originally been scheduled for 1 April but was postponed because of heavy snowfall. At half time, England were 4–1 down to the Scots. Charlie Bambridge scored early in the second half and his team-mates had levelled the score by the 75th minute. With less than ten minutes remaining, the Scots scored what they thought was the winning goal but the referee disallowed it as offside. The English forwards then raced upfield with Bambridge scoring the winning goal, thus enabling England to claim their first victory over the Scots since 1873 in what was described as "the most exciting England and Scotland game to date".

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